Key Status Indicator: The Berkey Filter

With an Apple Watch, the quantified health movement, workout tracking, and apps to track finances, shouldn’t we have a detailed read on how we’re doing? After all, if I ask you how you’re doing, what would you call upon to give a specific answer to that question?

I can’t seem to shake the validity of a joke I once made. It’s a simple proxy for my well being and maybe you can relate. 

How my life is going is directly related to the level of water in my water filter. 

You laugh, but the accuracy is remarkable. Years ago, it was one of those water filter pitchers that you put in the fridge and now it’s the big Berkey water filter on the kitchen counter. Here’s how I think it works:

One’s quality of life is tethered to our ability to take care of ourselves and our needs/responsibilities. The trouble with self-care is that it often comes down to choosing to do non-urgent, but important things over urgent things, whether they are urgent or not. 

When the water filter is empty, it simply means I was living my life in a way that I couldn’t refill the tank because I was chronically choosing to do that which felt urgent instead. Naturally, this is a state of being that is generally more reactionary and has less agency than the alternative. 

We know that having a high degree of agency is at the core of happiness. While I’m being silly about the Berkey filter, the metaphor works well. You might not have the same specific indicator, but the mechanics work. 

Fill up your tank, folks.